Bothroyd Boost For Beleaguered Bluebirds

On the back of a single defeat, albeit it to bitter rivals Swansea City, the mood at Cardiff City has been far from happy the past few days, despite the lofty position we occupy in the league. Yes to lose to Swansea is always hard to take, and the manner of the defeat was particularly disappointing - but there were only three points on offer and you wonder that if we beat Reading tonight, all will again be rosy in the eyes of our fans.

The one massive difference will be that talismanic frontman Jay Bothroyd is back in contention after a 1 match suspension. Sunday`s encounter would have been entirely different if he`d been available, but he will return tonight and provide the presence, balance and contribution we desperately need to the side.

Anyone who knows Cardiff City, knows that the likes of Bellamy, Chopra, McPhail, Whittingham etc can all be easily replace in the starting XI. Olofinjana is tricky to replace like-for-like but there is no-one who comes close to offering what Bothroyd does to our side. It is of course a massive failing that we are so dependent on one man, but it is certainly good to welcome him back to the fold, where Michael Chopra will also surely be delighted to link-up with his usual strike partner. I dare say Chops will also feature much more heavily, given Bothroyd`s ability